HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Ames Human Relations Commission - AHRC Minutes 06-27-2019M I N U T E S
HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION
June 27, 2019
Call to Order: This regular meeting of the Ames Human Relations Commission was called to
order by Commissioner Joel Hochstein at 5:30 p.m. in Conference Room 235 of City Hall.
Commissioners Wayne Clinton, Jill Crosser, Liming Pals, and Madesh Samanu were present.
Staff member Brian Phillips was also present.
Approval of Minutes: It was moved by Wayne, seconded by Madesh, to approve the minutes
from the meetings of May 23, 2019, and June 4, 2019. Motion carried unanimously.
Source of Income Discrimination in Housing: Joel explained that this was discussed at the
retreat and it was decided to place it on the agenda today. He had provided some information
in advance of the meeting. Wayne asked for clarification regarding the Council’s direction on
this topic. Joel explained it was his sense that the Council wanted to know whether protections
on the basis of source of income should be pursued. The mechanics of how to write an
ordinance and enforce it would be sorted out by City staff if the Council referred it for further
action.
Wayne asked what the downside would be to recommending that the Council should proceed.
The Commission discussed information to collect regarding this issue. Brian emphasized that
the Commission should focus on answering why this should be done, then City staff can focus
on how it can be done. Joel noted the question then is whether the Commission should invest
further time in studying the problem. Wayne expressed support for conducting a survey or
making calls to find out whether landlords state that they do not accept housing choice
vouchers.
Joel agreed to prepare a list of landlords and a script of things to ask about, and will bring it to
the next meeting to divide out. He will also connect with Vanessa to gather more information,
including how the voucher program works.
Follow-up from AHRC Retreat: Joel had pulled together information regarding what could be
asked in the focus groups. He noted a timeframe needs to be agreed upon to complete the
conversations. The Commission discussed who would be assigned to approach each group for
the discussions.
Madesh asked if nametags could be ordered before the focus groups. Brian agreed to work on
that.
2019 Symposium on Building Inclusive Organizations: The planning group will meet again on
July 10th at the Chamber Offices. Jill asked whether the Commission was planning to host a
session. Joel said it would be possible, but the Commission would have to have something
ready in October. He noted there is an idea about kicking off the conference with a panel of
diverse community members. The Commission may be able to assist with this if it did not feel it
could commit to a separate session.
Commissioner Announcements:
Next Meeting: July 25, 2019 @ 5:30 p.m.
Adjournment: Madesh moved adjournment at 6:52 p.m.